Tag Archives: Horticulture

Crinum moorei. Featured plant at Towerkop Nursery.

Natal Lily, with it’s lush, broad leaves loves growing in dappled shade. Flowers appear once these bulbs reach maturity after a few years and the leaves die down after flowering in drier areas.

Syngonium doing well under light box.

Syngoniun podophyllum, Arrowhead vine.

It’s Jacaranda season !

Jacaranda mimosifolia

This exotic tree is popular in South Africa but is no longer allowed to be planted here. This one flowering in Ladismith, Little Karoo.

Karoo gold (Rhigozum) flowering now in its natural habitat.

This spiney shrub blends in with the karoo scrub until it blooms profusely in the summer with bright yellow flowers, dotting the veld like bright gold nuggets.

Today John the Farmer planted up Tomato + Sweet basil seedlings.

Roma tomato + Sweet basil

Plant a guild of tomatoes, basil and marigolds for a flavorful and pest-free crop.

My Amaryllis flowered ! (Hippeastrum reginae).

This South African cultivar sends out leaves and scape at the same time after a season of vegetative growth. It can be grown in a pot or in the ground and it’s long lasting blooms are prized as cut flowers. They thrive when transplanted every few years.

Staghorn fern. (Platycerium bifurcatum)

Green door, what’s that secret you’re keepin’ ?

Daylilies flowering now at Towerkop Nursery.

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Although not indigenous to Africa, I am fond of their flowers. they are only open for 1 day, but are quite the show when they appear.

My Strelitzia is flowering! Strelitzia reginae, featured plant at Towerkop Nursery.

Crane1Crane

Bird of paradise, Strelitzia is a close relative of the banana. The striking flowers of this species are evolved to attract bird pollinators.Birds also eat and disperse the seeds. The cut flowers are popular. This stemless perennial are native to South Africa and occurs in coastal areas in well drained soil along forest margins.

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Seeds with their orange wooly arils.

Today John the farmer spotted this on his walk on the mountain.

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This Babiana plant is a perennial corm bulb in the Iris family. Apparently favoured by baboons that eat it’s corms (hence babiana), it survives amongst rock crevices on sandstone slopes and flats where it flowers in early spring.  Possibly B. ambigua, this one was found growing on the Swartberg mountains in the little Karoo.